1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to helmets and, more particularly, to helmets especially adapted for protecting portions of a wearer's face during baseball and softball games.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The general concept of protecting portions of a baseball or softball player's face during a game are known in the art and are exemplified by a number of innovations which have been developed and which are represented by the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 4,677,694, 4,885,806, and Des. 358,686. More specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,694 discloses a facial protector for a batting helmet that includes a cheek and jaw protector that is secured to the helmet in a fixed location on the helmet. As a result, even when the player no longer needs the facial protection, such as after the player has batted and is on base, the cheek and jaw protector remains in its protective location. When not actually needed for protection, the cheek and jaw protector in its fixed protective location may be undesirable to the player. In this respect, it would be desirable if a helmet were provided that includes a cheek and jaw protector that is readily removable from the helmet when the cheek and jaw protector is not needed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,806 discloses a batter's helmet that has a face protective member which can be moved around a spring loaded pivot from a face protecting location to an out of the way overhead location. In order to clear a brim on the helmet, the face protective member must extend a suitable distance forward of the wearer's face. As a result, the wearer's field of vision may be partially blocked by such a face protective member. In this respect, it would be desirable if a helmet were provided that includes a face protective member that extends out from a wearer's face a minimal distance to keep blocking the wearer's field of vision to a minimum.
Another aspect of U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,806 relates to the optical properties of the face protective member. More specifically, the face protective member is made from a continuous solid sheet material and includes a continuous opaque layer of padding under the solid sheet material. The continuous nature of the solid sheet and the padding cause a continuous opaque region to be created in the wearer's field of vision. To avoid such a continuous opaque region in the wearer's field of vision, it would be desirable if a helmet were provided that includes a face protective member that includes alternating opaque and transparent face protective regions.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 358,686 discloses a faceguard for a batter's helmet that extends completely across the batter's face. Since when a batter faces a pitcher only one half of the batter's face is turned towards the pitcher, it would be desirable if a helmet were provided that includes a faceguard that extends across only one half of the batter's face.
In addition, the following U.S. patents disclose some additional innovations for protecting a player's face in sports other than baseball or softball. Each of U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,108 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,347 discloses a face mask to be worn by hockey players. Both of these face masks cover both sides of the player's face.
Still other features would be desirable in a protective helmet apparatus. For example, it would be desirable if a protective helmet apparatus included a face protective portion that could be slid to the side of the helmet when the face protective portion is not being used.
Thus, while the foregoing body of prior art indicates it to be well known to use helmets that have protective devices for a wearer's face, the prior art described above does not teach or suggest a protective helmet apparatus which has the following combination of desirable features: (1) includes a cheek and jaw protector that is readily removable from the helmet when the cheek and jaw protector is not needed; (2) includes a face protective member that extends out from a wearer's face a minimal distance to block the wearer's field of vision at a minimum; (3) includes a face protective member that includes alternating opaque and transparent face protective regions; (4) includes a faceguard that extends across only one half of the batter's face; and (5) includes a face protective portion that can be slid to the side of the helmet when the face protective portion is not being used. The foregoing desired characteristics are provided by the unique protective helmet apparatus of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.